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“We are crying and in mourning for the death of our leader who could have changed Brazil.” Banner from the Facebook of the PSB branch in Franca, São Paulo.

Eduardo Campos, 49, died today at 10:15 a.m. in a plane crash in the city of Santos, São Paulo. The former governor of the state of Pernambuco was a presidential candidate in elections set to be held in October.

The private jet crashed as it was preparing to land in bad weather, killing Campos and the six other crew and passengers.

Campos placed thirdin the polls, running for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). Campos died on the same day, Aug. 13, as his grandfather Miguel Arraes, one of the most prominent socialist political figures of Brazilian politics in the 20th century.

He leaves a widow, four sons and a daughter.

His death was a shock for many in the country, which has been rocked by anti-government protests throughout the last year. People reacted and offered their condolences on Twitter:

Bad weather???? The weather was not that bad at all…. and 560xls aren’t known for crashing like that. Our president is Putin’s friend…. put 2 and 2 together. And I used to think such conspiracies were for fools…. now I don’t know what to think…. and I’d better not… Did I mention our government passed a law to spy on our internet? And that our president is making sure police investigators can’t touch the remains of this plane? Help!